A dark figure hiding deep within the dense forest suddenly gasped, then quickly clamped a hand over her mouth. At that moment, the moonlight happened to shine upon that part of the forest, finally revealing the figure’s true identity: it was Lingyun.

That night, with nothing better to do, she had intended to go out and see the night scenery of this remote town. But as she passed by Bifeng Garden, she spotted Mu Chen, a Profound Jade Box on his back, swiftly darting towards the back mountain. This piqued her already playful curiosity, so she concealed her aura and followed Mu Chen. The moment she arrived, Mu Chen had just come to a stop and revealed a Fan Dance that left her stunned. The illusory images produced by the Giant Fan could actually stack to such a degree. With just one look, she thought of two words: Absolute Defense.

But that was nothing. She had tested the weight of the Profound Jade Fan that afternoon. Even she could barely lift it without using her Primordial Power, let alone Mu Chen, whose Martial Artist Realm was only that of an Eighth-Ring Martial Master. Yet he had swung it for ten thousand slashes continuously within two and a half hours. This was simply an extreme training method.

These discoveries were enough for Lingyun to conclude that Mu Chen’s strength had a traceable source. It wasn’t boosted by a Secret Technique, but built on willpower, effort, and diligence. However, the next scene completely overturned this understanding. A Martial Artist with immense willpower and a diligent heart wasn’t terrifying; it would indeed make them a powerful expert. But when a diligent and willful Martial Artist also possessed peerless talent, they were an out-and-out monster. Once such a person matured, they would be far beyond the comparison of so-called experts. Without exception, they were the kind of supreme Great Powers who defined entire eras.

And what was Mu Chen doing right now? Probably very few people in the entire Xuanling Empire would even know what this was. An epiphany! Mu Chen was actually having an epiphany! This was a profound and mysterious state that even a genius Martial Artist would be lucky to encounter once in a lifetime, yet Mu Chen had already run into it at such a young age.

’A monster, truly a monster...’ A sharp light flashed repeatedly in Lingyun’s eyes. No one knew what would happen when a Martial Artist had an epiphany. It was one of the few mysteries that remained unsolved to this day. Some people’s Martial Artist Realm would leap forward consecutively, even crossing a whole Great Tier at once. Others would see their originally average talent improve by several levels. But the benefits a third type of person gained from an epiphany were far greater than the previous two: the Creation Secret Technique.

Secret Techniques! These things, even rarer than Cultivation and Battle Skill, were often the accumulation of eons of time spent by ancient Great Powers. But even over such a long time, the total number of accumulated Secret Techniques definitely did not exceed one thousand. One could only imagine how low the probability of the Creation Secret Technique was.

While Lingyun was so nervous she didn’t dare to blink, Mu Chen, on the other hand, felt his entire body and mind become incredibly relaxed. Immersed in the wonder of his epiphany, Mu Chen felt as if he were riding a small boat across a calm sea. The water’s surface was so clear it seemed he could see another world through it. Or perhaps, it was as if his little boat was sailing across the sky itself.

The sight was a feast for Mu Chen’s eyes. He marveled at its magnificent beauty. The sky was a boundless expanse of stars, with a huge, round moon hanging in the sky like a silver floodgate. Standing on the small boat, Mu Chen gazed relaxedly at the stars.

Suddenly, a single point of starlight flickered in the sky. Immediately after, countless points of light flashed one after another, then streaked across the sky in dazzling arcs, all rushing toward Mu Chen. It all happened so suddenly that Mu Chen was frozen in place before he could even react.

Meteors. All the stars had transformed into meteors, hurtling down from the sky toward him at terrifying speeds. An unprecedentedly terrifying pressure descended from above, and Mu Chen’s heart sank to the abyss. ’What kind of power is this? Human strength, in the end, has its limits; it can be endured. But before this power from the world itself, from space itself, I feel like a completely insignificant ant, an ant with no ability to resist whatsoever!’

Finally, the first star grew immense in Mu Chen’s pupils. Raging flames burned around its perimeter, their light illuminating the sky and dyeing the surrounding sea red.

BOOM!

A tremendous roar that shook the heavens and the earth resounded in Mu Chen’s ears. In that instant, the massive star crashed into the sea several thousand kilometers away from him. A gigantic, visible crater appeared on the calm surface of the sea. The immense impact churned up waves tens of thousands of meters high, forming a colossal tsunami. The raging tsunami let out a heavy roar as it surged outward in all directions. Soon, Mu Chen was submerged by the waves in this Endless Sea Area.

However, this was only the beginning. Following that first star, more of them fell like raindrops onto the sea’s surface. The massive impacts created one huge depression after another. Raging tsunamis constantly erupted across this stretch of sea. The collisions of seawater against seawater generated immense energy fluctuations. Where they met, countless Sea Dragons roared and spread out in all directions. They seemed to move without a pattern, but in truth, their target was one and the same.

Mu Chen’s body was like a leaf in the ocean, tossed about in the roiling tsunamis. Finally, a star crashed down right beside him. The terrifying shockwave instantly tore his body to shreds. It all happened so fast; Mu Chen only saw the spouting tongues of flame and the explosion that followed the dazzling light before his consciousness was utterly shattered with a bang. But in that instant of annihilation, Mu Chen suddenly felt that something new had appeared in his mind—a bond connecting him to the stars!

In the Outer Realm, Lingyun had flown high into the air. Just as she was about to approach Mu Chen, a world-shaking fluctuation of Primordial Qi suddenly erupted from his body. This Primordial Qi was not generated by Mu Chen’s own Primordial Power, but was the worldly power from his epiphany. Lingyun felt her body become imprisoned by a formidable power, unable to move an inch.

’Are you kidding me? I’m a Martial Sect, yet I’m completely immobilized here?’ Lingyun was horrified. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The next moment, her body was suddenly pulled into an Illusion Realm. In this Illusion Realm, Mu Chen held a silver Locking Chain. The chain shimmered with a two-toned luster, and its sharp, spiraling spikes swayed by his sides like a Poisonous Snake. The background was a round moon in a sky filled with countless stars, creating a dreamlike scene.

Finally, Mu Chen moved. With a swing of his left arm, the silver Locking Chain snapped into motion. As the frequency of his arm’s swings increased, the chain left afterimages as it cut through space. Suddenly, the two-toned chain seemed to produce countless Clones, filling the entire area. The long body of the chain had vanished at some unknown point, leaving only the sharp, spiraling spikes in this space. These spikes overlapped with the stars in the sky, appearing as if they had transformed into stars themselves.

A faint smile appeared on Mu Chen’s lips. He didn’t know what this power was, but when he discovered that sliver of a connection to the starry sky in his mind, his body had naturally performed these actions. Seeing the spiraling spikes transform into countless stars, Mu Chen grinned. The moment these stars were created, he could feel his connection to each and every one, as if he could control them all. In disbelief, Mu Chen pointed a finger at the Azure Sky. As he thrust his finger forward, just as he expected, the myriad stars fell in unison in the direction he pointed!

History repeated itself. One by one, massive stars imbued with infinite power streaked in one direction according to Mu Chen’s will. Searing heat, powerful impacts, and violent explosions erupted one after another. The might of it all was no less than a Combat Skill released by a Five-Ring Martial Spirit.

"It’s too strong!"

Immobilized in mid-air, Lingyun’s jaw dropped as she stared in terror at the chain of violent explosions. Although there was a contradiction between the power of the explosions and the visual phenomenon—the visuals were far too magnificent for the resulting blasts—the explosions were still powerful enough. Even so, they were sufficient to kill any Fifth-Ring Martial Spirit Strong Person. Even a Nine-Ring Martial Spirit couldn’t escape from this Secret Technique unscathed. And one had to remember that Mu Chen was currently only in the Eighth-Ring Martial Master Realm! If he were in the Martial Arts Grandmaster Realm, the power of this move would be immeasurable.

More importantly, the consumption of this Secret Technique was surprisingly low. Typically, a Secret Technique that surpassed one’s level restrictions would completely drain all of their Primordial Power in one go. But after unleashing this attack, Mu Chen had only used up half of his Primordial Power. What did that mean? It meant that this Combat Skill could be used twice in a single battle! And it was an area-of-effect Secret Technique at that! Heavens, she had never imagined that Mu Chen would actually create a Secret Technique, let alone one so powerful.

The surrounding scenery vanished completely. The moment the restraints on her body disappeared, Lingyun had already vanished from her spot and slipped back into the dark, dense forest. With her strength as a Seventh-Ring Martial Sect, avoiding Mu Chen’s line of sight and Spiritual Detection was trivially easy.

Standing in his original spot, Mu Chen broke into a knowing smile and whispered, "This is a Combat Skill I created myself. No, this should be considered a Secret Technique. It’s so strong!"

Even Mu Chen himself could feel the power of this Secret Technique. Thinking of the faint connection to the stars that had formed in his mind, a thought surfaced, and a name for the Secret Technique imprinted itself in his mind.

"Meteor Fall."

The Shattered Star Lock Chain had already materialized from Mu Chen’s wrist when he unleashed the Combat Skill. Looking at the Shattered Star Lock Chain coiling around him, Mu Chen couldn’t help but feel a bit ashamed. Ever since he obtained Broken Star, he had rarely used it proactively. It wasn’t that he was unwilling, but that the moment Broken Star appeared, everyone would assume it was one of the Spiritual Treasure Soldiers, making it even more conspicuous than his Profound Jade Fan. But things were different now. The title of Di Cang’s disciple had fallen to him, so possessing a Spiritual Treasure Soldier wasn’t too outrageous.

With a thought, the Shattered Star Lock Chain swiftly returned to the Star Mark on his left arm. Time had flown by without him realizing. Summer nights were already short, and the eastern sky was gradually turning white. Seeing that the sun was about to rise, Mu Chen caught a whiff of the stench of sweat on his body and frowned. In a flash, he stripped off his pants and leaped into the stream.